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Anyone remember the AAA TourBooks?

Started by KCRoadFan, October 14, 2024, 01:17:47 AM

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KCRoadFan

I believe they do still make those, although they've been made largely redundant in the age of smartphones. Anyway, when I was growing up, back in the early-to-mid-aughts, we had a bunch of TourBooks, and I absolutely LOVED looking through them as a kid! There's just something I enjoyed about reading the hotel listings and all the detail they went into, down to the number of rooms and floors in the building. I especially loved reading through the sections corresponding to big cities like Chicago and New York, as well as major tourist/resort areas such as Orlando; those sections, as I recall, had lots of ads posted for many of the listed hotels, as well as accompanying maps of the area with each property marked with a number in a black oval, along with a list of the mapped properties. I loved looking at those, and in an era before Street View was even an idea, I felt that flipping through those TourBooks brought places closer to me in a way that no other medium could (well, aside from actual pictures of the place, that is).

I wonder: does anyone else here have fond memories of reading AAA TourBooks - either when planning an upcoming trip, or just paging through them for fun or to make themselves think of taking a trip? I'm sure there's at least a handful of people here who remember TourBooks like I did, or something close to that feeling.


rschen7754


SEWIGuy

That's how my parents picked out where to stay on our trips home from out east. They were fun to page through. As well as the Triptiks.

55 mph in a station wagon with no air conditioning wasn't as fun.

GaryV

I've gotten digital AAA TourBooks several times in the past few years. They don't have nearly as much information as I remember in the printed versions a while back. Including for a trip we will be taking soon. I've gotten a few ideas, but certainly not as much as before. I don't know if it's a case of having to pay to get into the book, and companies are finding better ways to spend their advertising dollars. Or if AAA has less staff to review places of interest and so there's not as much content.

SEWIGuy

It's probably because most people will just use the internet.

wanderer2575

I still have a stack of TourBooks from previous trips.  They're all 10+ years old now but I keep them because they're still mostly useful in seeing what kind of accommodations are where.  I haven't tried the digital ones yet, but the AAA mobile app sucks.

1995hoo

I picked up a couple of new paper TourBooks in 2017 for a roundtrip drive to St. Louis and I was glad I did, as one of the ads led us to a really nice place in Canton I don't think I'd have discovered otherwise.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

SEWIGuy

Quote from: wanderer2575 on October 14, 2024, 08:47:50 AMI still have a stack of TourBooks from previous trips.  They're all 10+ years old now but I keep them because they're still mostly useful in seeing what kind of accommodations are where.  I haven't tried the digital ones yet, but the AAA mobile app sucks.

Look up a place in Google maps...type in "hotels."

mgk920

Parer guides are so much easier to use quickly, too.

  :thumbdown:

Mike

JayhawkCO

Quote from: mgk920 on October 14, 2024, 12:00:32 PMParer guides are so much easier to use quickly, too.

  :thumbdown:

Mike

Depends how quickly you type and/or read.

Life in Paradise

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 14, 2024, 10:52:46 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on October 14, 2024, 08:47:50 AMI still have a stack of TourBooks from previous trips.  They're all 10+ years old now but I keep them because they're still mostly useful in seeing what kind of accommodations are where.  I haven't tried the digital ones yet, but the AAA mobile app sucks.

Look up a place in Google maps...type in "hotels."

What I liked about the paper AAA tour books was that you had hotel/restaurant listings along with some information about where you were visiting as well as some specific notable sites to visit.  It was all in one place rather than different websites.  I do a lot of online research in my work, but I still enjoy the old thumbing through actual solid media (it may take longer, but it's fun).

jeffandnicole

Looking back, you used the AAA books to find a hotel based on AAA's criteria and recommendations. A place didn't want to participate? It wasn't a recommended option.


Today AAA mostly exists as a source to tell news reporters drivers should slow down, don't drive in flooded roadways and save gas.  Even their towing coverage is easily duplicated by most people's insurance coverage for a few dollars per year.

J N Winkler

Over the years I had a membership, I accumulated enough TourBooks (though from different years) to yield more or less complete coverage of the US and Canada, and I still keep a set on one shelf for planning travel.  Even back in the days before online hotel booking, I relied on them more for the attraction and restaurant listings than for lodging.  I would use their lists of starred attractions (later designated "Great Experience for Members" or GEM and marked with a silhouette of a single-cut diamond) as a starting point when putting together itineraries.

It saddens but does not surprise me to hear that the TourBooks are now digital-only.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

rschen7754

I got rid of my paper copies. The PDFs mostly duplicate the paper copies, except for the maps which seem to be using OpenStreetMap now (if they are even present). It was a tough decision, but I couldn't justify keeping the paper ones when I have limited space.

hbelkins

I accumulated, and then discarded, a number of them over the years.

I still miss the TripTiks with the preprinted strip maps most of all.
Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Life in Paradise

Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 14, 2024, 12:42:49 PMLooking back, you used the AAA books to find a hotel based on AAA's criteria and recommendations. A place didn't want to participate? It wasn't a recommended option.


Today AAA mostly exists as a source to tell news reporters drivers should slow down, don't drive in flooded roadways and save gas.  Even their towing coverage is easily duplicated by most people's insurance coverage for a few dollars per year.
One thing to watch out for is that if you use your towing coverage from your insurance policy, for most insurance carriers it is listed as a claim, and could (repeat could) cause your rates to go up.  Just something to remember.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Life in Paradise on October 15, 2024, 12:36:24 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 14, 2024, 12:42:49 PMLooking back, you used the AAA books to find a hotel based on AAA's criteria and recommendations. A place didn't want to participate? It wasn't a recommended option.


Today AAA mostly exists as a source to tell news reporters drivers should slow down, don't drive in flooded roadways and save gas.  Even their towing coverage is easily duplicated by most people's insurance coverage for a few dollars per year.
One thing to watch out for is that if you use your towing coverage from your insurance policy, for most insurance carriers it is listed as a claim, and could (repeat could) cause your rates to go up.  Just something to remember.

Not mine.  Used it a few times one year when my CRV turned out was on its last legs.  No issues, no claim notations.

Life in Paradise

Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 15, 2024, 05:36:00 PM
Quote from: Life in Paradise on October 15, 2024, 12:36:24 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on October 14, 2024, 12:42:49 PMLooking back, you used the AAA books to find a hotel based on AAA's criteria and recommendations. A place didn't want to participate? It wasn't a recommended option.


Today AAA mostly exists as a source to tell news reporters drivers should slow down, don't drive in flooded roadways and save gas.  Even their towing coverage is easily duplicated by most people's insurance coverage for a few dollars per year.
One thing to watch out for is that if you use your towing coverage from your insurance policy, for most insurance carriers it is listed as a claim, and could (repeat could) cause your rates to go up.  Just something to remember.

Not mine.  Used it a few times one year when my CRV turned out was on its last legs.  No issues, no claim notations.
Good to know.  What insurance company?  I'm actually in the insurance claim business, and I don't trust insurance companies (at least those that guide procedures).

Henry

Quote from: SEWIGuy on October 14, 2024, 05:33:50 AMThat's how my parents picked out where to stay on our trips home from out east. They were fun to page through. As well as the Triptiks.

55 mph in a station wagon with no air conditioning wasn't as fun.
Blame it on Richard Nixon. Even in a convertible with the top down and the wind blowing in your face, 55 on a four-lane highway wasn't the greatest thing in the world.

My father used to dabble in TourBooks every once in a while, as a complement to his trusty Rand McNally atlases. He even collected CAA versions during his rare trips to Canada as well.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!



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